Forever and Always
by Creeper Magnet
Summary: SasuSaku. "I didn't leave because I didn't love you, I left because I..."
1. A New Sakura

**A/N: This is the first chapter to one of the new stories I had planned on writing. I _should _be working on the next chapter of TSofL (those readers please don't kill me), but I had an inspiration that I couldn't let slip by me for this story. This story is a story about after Sasuke's return. It does not follow with the time skip manga/anime. Please let me know what you think because I'm trying out a new writing style for this one. R&R**

**Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto. **

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Chapter One: A New Sakura

Sakura had always dreamed of the day Sasuke would return to the village- the day he would return to her. He wouldn't have been drug back to the village defeated, but would return on his own knowing deep down that Konoha was truly where he wanted to be. A crowd would of course form in front of the village gate starting in awe of the great Uchiha. Naruto would rush towards Sasuke with a mind full of a few choice words for his best friend, but Sasuke would cut him off before he could say anything with that oh so familiar growl of his. _'Where is she?'_ Naruto's frown would slowly turn into a smile. His eyes would soften as he would point towards the crowd that had gathered knowing she was there among the mass bunches of people. The crowd would slowly part making a path to the pink haired kunoichi which Sasuke would eagerly follow. His onyx eyes would meet her emerald ones as he would wipe away the tears falling from her cheeks. Ignoring the watching eyes, he would then confess his undying love for her before planting a passionate kiss upon her lips. His return would be perfect.

----

Sakura stood relaxed leaning against the village gate with her arms crossed as she stared off into the horizon. The wind gently blew her short pink hair in her face, but her emerald green eyes never left the sunset ahead of her. Naruto would be returning from his solo mission in search f Sasuke. She had promised she would grow strong and go with him this time, but she hadn't. She had indeed grown stronger in the past three years, but Tsunade needed her to stay and work in the hospital seeing as she was now the top medic in the village with the skills to match the Hokage herself. She had also acquired super-human strength from her mentor making her one of the most ferocious ninjas throughout the entire village.

Sakura had not only grown physically stronger, but emotionally stronger as well. She had been preparing herself for the day Sasuke Uchiha would return t Konoha since the day of his departure. Over the past two years, she had become independent, determined, and confident. She was anything but the weak genin she had previously been who stalked the Uchiha around confessing her undying love for him.

Naruto had been expected to be back early this morning, but now the sun had almost completely set leaving the sky between a dark blue and bright purple at the very edge of the horizon. Sakura's eyes widened as a shadowy figure entered her vision. It was not just one person, but two. Sasuke Uchiha was back.

She didn't move a muscle. Instead, Sakura waited for Naruto to reach the village gate where she had been waiting. She gave Naruto a small smile and a nod before taking Sasuke's arm around her shoulder t help support him long enough to get him to the hospital. She didn't fling her arms around his neck, crying and blabbering on about how much she missed him and how she always knew he would return to her one day. In fact, she didn't say anything at all nor did one tear fall from those emerald green eyes of hers- proof she was a new Sakura.

Sasuke did not take notice of this. Actually, he knew nothing of Sakura as he had blacked out the moment Konoha had came into sight. His body was badly bruised, cut, and all around injured while Naruto had not a scratch on his body. Sakura pondered this, but pushed it out of her mind upon reaching the hospital. Her full concentration was needed now.

She quickly got to work examining the damage Sasuke's body had undergone. After concluding that his life was indeed not in danger, she began to treat his most seriously wounds first. She maintained perfect chakra control as she calmly ran her glowing green hands over a large gash made across his chest that had caused the most blood loss. After closing it, she continued on to treat the other minor external injuries. She also managed to stop the internal bleeding and did what she could to heal the other internal injuries.

After bandaging Sasuke's injured body, she took time to observe her childhood teammate. He had grown much taller in the past three years as she had expected. His hair was styled in the same fashion just slightly a bit longer. Sakura gently placed her hand on Sasuke's cheek. His face was no longer that of a young boy, but of a man. He had a much stronger jaw line, and his facial features had become much more distinct. His skin seemed just as pearly as ever, but his skin tone seemed slightly paler than what she remembered.

"Welcome back," She whispered as she pulled her hand away. She gathered her stuff and headed towards the door. She slid open the door, but before exiting, she gave her childhood love just one more gaze. Sasuke Uchiha was indeed back.

Sakura made her way to the Hokage's tower to report on Sasuke's medical conditions to Tsunade. Many hours had passed since Sakura had first taken Sasuke into the hospital. The moon was shinning brightly over head as a cool breeze lingered in the air. It was strange weather for a spring day as it was, but the day itself had been strange in itself.

She soon found herself standing in front of Tsunade's door. She hesitated before knocking afraid that she may awake her mentor by doing so. She had seen the Hokage's temper many times before so she knew the dangers of awaking her from her sleep. She finally decided to knock on the door knowing it was important that she knew of both Sasuke's return and his medical conditions. She figured Naruto had probably gone out for ramen in celebration and forgot to stop by the Hokage's office. Surprisingly, Tsunade's unmuffled voice immediately could be heard behind the door after Sakura had knocked. "Come in," She commanded.

"You're still awake Shishou?" She asked as she entered her office.

"I could say the same of you Sakura," Tsunade replied as she poured a small amount of sake and offered it to her pink haired apprentice.

"True," She answered accepting the sake.

"Naruto was just here," Tsunade said as to answer Sakura's question.

"Ahh, so you know of Sasuke Uchiha's return then," Sakura stated taking a sip of the sake.

"Yes, Naruto gave me all the details. It seems as if he-"

"Shishou, I need not know the details. It's classified information," Sakura smiled as she cut her off. Tsunade returned her smile noticing the strength exhibited in her voice.

"Very well, how are his medical conditions?" She asked as she took a sip of her sake.

"Sasuke Uchiha is currently in an unconscious state due to a tremendous blood loss. I have healed all the gashes and cuts on his body. He was also suffering from internal bleeding as well, but I have stopped it. He had a broken arm and 3 broken ribs." Sakura rattled off almost mechanically.

"I see. How are his chakra reserves?"

"Very low, but they should recover fully if proper treatment occurs. Presently, I have pushed approximately 42 of my own chakra into his system to help speed up his recovery process." She replied calmly.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she examined Sakura, "You must be exhausted then."

"You said yourself that a medical ninja must have something important to protect," Sakura replied somewhat defiantly.

"Yes, but you-"

"I have two people important to me I have to protect. I've protected Naruto many times now, but I always let Sasuke down. He saved my life numerous times, and all I had been was a burden. I've worked the past three years for the moment where I finally could be the one to protect him. I am not going to fail myself or him this time." Sakura cut her off again knowing what she would say. She felt strongly about this matter as noted by the tone in her voice.

Tsunade nodded in understanding and then smiled. Sakura had truly blossomed under her guidance. She remembered the determination in Sakura's eyes as she had first asked her to be her mentor. It was that same determination that made her agree to take her under her wing. Now looking at Sakura, she could see that same determination in her eyes despite having now protected both of them fro the brink of death though. "What kind of treatment do you suspect he'll require?"

"It's hard to say seeing as he is still unconscious. He will definitely need to stay hospitalized for at least two weeks. After which time, it is possible that he may or may not require home medical attention."

"Very well, when do you expect him to re-enter consciousness?"

"Tomorrow around noon,"

Tsunade smiled again at Sakura's growth. Under the treatment of any medic ninja other than herself and Shizune, he would not have been expected to awake for at least a week. Sakura still had an unlimited amount of potential to grow even stronger. Soon, Tsunade thought Sakura would surpass her own abilities. "I'll expect you to be there."

"Hai," Sakura replied not arguing. She was ready for any obstacle her master through in her way.

"You are relieved of your morning shift as well. Rest until then, okay?"

"Hai," She replied knowing she would indeed need the rest. She had pushed herself to the limits tonight and knew it would take time to recover.

"So how have you been holding up considering recent events?" Tsunade asked knowing it was a touchy subject. Sakura had become like a daughter to her so she knew of the inner struggles Sakura had been dealing with in the past three years.

"It's good to have him back," Sakura answered trying to mask the feelings she had yet to confront.

"That's not what I asked." She could see through Sakura's defenses.

"I'm doing fine Shishou. It pained to see him, but I somehow feel better knowing that he his back. It's just… calming to see him despite the pain in brings back," Sakura replied trying to maintain her strength.

"And your feelings for him?"

"He is my lost teammate."

"Very well," Tsunade smiled noticing the emotional strength her apprentice had acquired as well. She could see the pain in Sakura's eyes, but she could also see that pain was in the past. "You should be getting to sleep."

"Thank you Shishou!" Sakura exclaimed as she threw her arms around Tsunade's neck giving her a hug. She wasn't thanking for her for dismissing her, but for the person she had allowed her to become.

"I need to be getting to work," Tsunade replied as she patted Sakura on the back.

"You're not going to sleep?" Sakura asked on her way to the door.

"It's not everyday an S-class criminal returns, and you know the damn paper work that will require." She laughed despite the long night she would have in front of her.

"So very true. Night Shishou!" Sakura laughed on her way out the door only to find Naruto waiting for her in the hallway.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" He bubbled. "Wanna go out for ramen to celebrate?"

Sakura smiled, but then placed her hands on her hips. "Only if you're paying," She said acting annoyed but truly in a playful way.

"Aww I always pay!" Naruto whined.

"Fine, I'll treat you… this time." Sakura laughed.

"You're the greatest Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "Besides, I'm broke anyways," He laughed as he scratched the back of his head.

Sakura rolled her eyes hitting him lightly on top of his head. "You never change." Naruto and Sakura had become best friends in the past three years. They usually spent their free time together when Sakura wasn't working in the hospital or Naruto wasn't off on a mission.

"So does Kakashi know of Sasuke's return yet?" Sakura asked as they sat down at Ichiruka's.

"Nope, I was thinking you and me should tell him together. Hey! Maybe team 7 can get back together!" Naruto smiled as he ordered his favorite bowl of ramen.

"Maybe," Sakura smiled as she placed her order as well. She hadn't thought of team 7 being reunited, but she supposed it was a possibility.

"Yeah, but now I gotta focus on becoming Hokage. Believe it!"

Sakura's smile disappeared. She knew that Naruto had put off his dream to fulfill his promise to her. "Yeah…" She sighed.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, why did the bastard blackout? He was fine, but then when we almost reached the village, he just blacked out."

"Tremendous blood loss. Did you not even think about bandaging some of his wounds before you dragged him back?"

"Oh, Hehehe," Naruto laughed scratching the back of his head again. He was never the brightest when it came to taking care of injuries. Soon, a bowl of ramen was placed in front of him and he dove in, devouring every morsel of it. Sakura just stared at her ramen not hungry.

"I bet you're pretty proud of yourself huh, not having even got a scratch from the great Uchiha," Sakura said as she got up tossing some money on the counter.

"Well, the funny thing is I get the feeling-" He cut his own self off. "Oi Sakura-chan, aren't you going to eat that?" He asked as he pointed towards her bowl of ramen.

"No you can have it!" She shouted as she ran off towards her apartment.

Naruto stared in bewilderment as she hadn't even listened to what he had to say. "I think he wanted to come back," He mumbled knowing Sakura would not hear him. He looked at the ramen next to him. "Oh well, better not let some perfectly good ramen go to waste!" He exclaimed as he began to devour the next dish.

Sakura soon slowed from her run to a slow, steady walking pace as exhaustion set in. She drug herself up the stairs of her apartment and into her room. The day was finally over that she had waited and prepared herself for three long years- the day Sasuke Uchiha would return. It wasn't the way she had dreamed of when she was younger, but she never really believed it would be. His feelings for her were obvious. This was a day of closing and beginning. Today, she had closed the chapter of her life about Sasuke, and she was now ready to open a new one. Today had been a test of her strength, and she had indeed passed it with flying colors. Sakura Haruno was a new Sakura indeed.


	2. Awakening

**A/N: Okay, so I am officially excited about this story now. I finished TSoL, and I can fully focus on this now. I just want to let you guys know that my updates aren't going to be really quick like they had been on my other stories for a couple of reasons. First of all, school has started once again so I don't have as much free time. Secondly, I want to spend more time writing each and every chapter to make sure it's my absolute best. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto. Why does everyone keep rubbing that in?**

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**Chapter Two: Awakening**

Sasuke had never liked hospitals. He found them to be annoyingly bright, peculiarly odorous, and most importantly, a sign of weakness which happened to be the one thing that was indefinitely intolerable for him to be. He hated the feeling of helplessness forced upon him in hospitals as well. The nurses would barge in and out of the room barking orders of when & what to eat, what to do & when to do it, and other things of that nature. Being in a hospital also took time that could be better spent training or on a mission. He had been in the hospital a relatively few times in his life, and after he had abandoned Konoha, he never expected to see a hospital room again.

----

Sasuke clutched the sheets of the hospital bed with his good arm as he winced in pain. Indescribable pain seared his left arm and throughout his chest. He slowly attempted to open his eyes for the first time since his return to Konoha. The room was a bright white which caused him to quickly shut his eyes. It had been a long time since he had been in a room that bright. Compared to the dark, dusky dungeon quarters he was used to staying in with Orochimaru, the room was inexplicably blinding. The brightness combined with the strange smell the room also had caused him to know all too well where he was on the other hand. He was in one of Konoha's hospital rooms.

"Good morning," It was a smooth sounding female voice. It was filled with compassion and yet somehow detached. It was a familiar voice even if it was slightly different from the one he remembered.

He slowly opened his eyes once again; this time prepared for the brightness of the room. He quickly scanned the room in search of the one person the voice belonged to. His eyes quickly fell upon the only other person in the room, and to no surprise, it was exactly who he had expected.

He knew he had recognized the voice. It had been the same voice that continually annoyed him throughout his genin years. It was the voice of the girl who had stalked him around continually confessing her undying love for him despite having always been rejected. It was the voice of none other than his former teammate Haruno Sakura.

She stood in the far side of the room at a counter preparing something Sasuke could not see. He had expected Sakura to be the first one to the hospital upon hearing of his return. He was surprised, however, by Sakura's reaction to his awakening. He had expected Sakura to be patiently waiting by his bedside for hours on end until he finally awoke prompting her to immediately throw her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly as she had so annoyingly done the last time he was in the hospital.

"If you plan on trying to make me eat that, don't bother," Sasuke stated in the cold tone he had always spoken to her with. He knew she was only going to try to make him eat whatever it was she was preparing.

About three years ago while he was in the hospital, she had peeled some apples and tried to feed them to him. It had been rather annoying, but he had always found her to be that way so it really wasn't a surprise.

Sakura didn't reply to Sasuke's bitter remark. She had no reason to. Besides, she was too busy concentrating on using the right mixture of herbs in the soup that Sasuke was going to eat- whether he liked it or not. Behind her, she could hear Sasuke's grunts of annoyance that she hadn't said a word to his remark. She smirked to herself. She wasn't the same Sakura he remembered. The smirk quickly vanished from her face as she turned around carrying the tray of soup she had just finished preparing.

"I said don't bother," He growled in a fierce tone upon seeing Sakura carrying a bowl of soup closer to him despite his demands not to.

Sakura only responded by forcing a smile upon her face. She had figured Sasuke would act like this. He had always acted this way especially towards her...

Cold, bitter, and harsh.

One would think he would be humble after having his sorry ass dragged back to Konoha, but she knew him better than that. She didn't expect him to change one bit after all these years away from Konoha.

Sasuke quickly grew annoyed at Sakura's lingering presence. He stared at the soup she had placed in front of him. He was most certainly not going to eat that. "Leave," He demanded as he diverted his attention back towards the pink haired kunoichi who was now sitting at the far edge of the bed.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," She smirked finally responding to one of the raven haired boy's demand. Her tone of voice was firm with a hint of pleasure hidden behind her words. Sasuke wasn't used to Sakura using such a tone with him, and he wasn't exactly pleased by it either.

"And why is that?" He scowled as he began to glare at her.

"I'm a medical ninja here," She replied simply finding no reason having to explain herself further.

"Send another nurse in then," He growled trying to cover his surprise at her last statement. Had she really become a medic ninja during his defection from Konoha? Now that she had mentioned it, he did notice that she was indeed wearing a hospital uniform. He scoffed a little. Sakura was probably a low level medic-nin, a nurse at best.

"I am not a nurse; I am a medical ninja. There's a huge difference," Sakura hissed angered by Sasuke's belittlement of her abilities.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted before continuing, "Send in another _medic_-nin in then,"

"I'm afraid I can't do that either," She stated as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as his glare at Sakura intensified.

"And why is that?" He growled.

"You'll have to speak to the Hokage yourself about that. Tsunade-shishou personally assigned me to you for the remainder of your stay here." Sakura finished with a look of pure satisfaction on her face.

"Tsunade-_shishou_?" Sasuke questioned with a subtle look of shock upon his face.

"_Yes_, Tsunade-**shishou**," She stated emphasizing the suffix. You and Naruto aren't the only ones who have trained under a Legendary Sannin over these past three years." She gave Sasuke a sadistic smile.

Sasuke couldn't help but gape. The Hokage herself had seen enough in Sakura to take her in as an apprentice? He had never seen Sakura as anything but weak. He eyed Sakura slowly. Had she really been training under Tsunade for the past three years? He remembered Orochimaru had once spoken of Tsunade's healing abilities during one of their training sessions.

Apparently, Orochimaru had sought out Tsunade before she had accepted the role of Hokage for she would be the only one capable of healing his arms. Kabuto even remarked that she was the strongest medical ninja throughout all of the countries. Sasuke wondered just how much Sakura had grown under the Hokage's guidance.

"So just eat the soup. I promise you doing so will only relieve you of the pain you're in," Sakura stated as her eyes trailed to the clock on the wall. His look of shock quickly transformed back into his usual stoic expression.

"I am not going to eat that soup."

Sakura resigned somewhat annoyed at his blatant refusal. "Fine, don't eat it Sasuke. You're only hurting yourself. If you had just stayed asleep for another hour, you wouldn't be in any pain anyway," She finished as her eyes trailed back to the clock on the wall which read 11:13 AM.

"Huh?" He muttered bewildered at what Sakura just said.

"You awoke sooner than expected. In another hour, you would have been completely ridden of pain if only you had stayed asleep."

He wasn't asking about that. Actually, he wasn't asking about anything in particular. He was just somewhat startled by the mention of his name. Sasuke? Since when had he become _just _Sasuke? He was actually somewhat troubled by the lack of words by the end of his name.

"Please stop glaring at me," Sakura snapped as she noticed Sasuke hadn't removed his glare from her.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted turning his attention away from Sakura and out the window. He could clearly see that Tsunade's face had been carved into the side of the mountain along with the previous four Hokages. The village looked the same as he remembered, but he was sure a lot had changed in the past three years. Appearances, after all, can be deceiving.

"A lot has changed since you've been gone," Sakura said as she walked over to the window sill. She had noticed he had been staring out of the window at the village he had once abandoned so she could only guess that he was wondering how the village had changed since his departure.

"Oh..." Sasuke stated as his voice trailed off. It was weird to be back in Konoha. He had honestly thought he would never see the village again, none the less reside here. He wondered how he would be punished or if the entire village hated him. He was a traitor. He wouldn't be surprised if everyone distrusted him from this point on- not that he cared; it was merely an observation.

Sakura stared at the raven haired boy who was obviously in deep contemplation. She still had a hard time believing that Uchiha Sasuke was back. She gazed at his newly defined features she had taken note of the night before. He had only grown more handsome with time. He still resembled the boy he had once been, but had very much so grown into a new man. The one feature that hadn't changed though was the one Sakura would never forget. He still had those serene onyx eyes Sakura had fallen in love with as a child. A real smile full of compassion slipped onto her face as she gazed adoringly at her one time love of her life.

"What?" Sasuke said suddenly startling Sakura. He had noticed Sakura had been giving him a strange look.

"N-N-Nothing!" She exclaimed embarrassed. She sounded like Hinata. She mentally slapped herself for letting her guard down so easily.

"Hn," He grunted as a reply.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she pulled a chair over next to Sasuke's bed. "Bandages," She stated as she started to unwrap the bandage around Sasuke's left arm. "I'll only change this one now, but it'll have to be changed everyday for the next two weeks. Then it will be put into a sling after you're released to ensure that you won't re-injure it," She rattled off mechanically as she had done the night before while talking to Tsunade.

"Hn," He grunted again.

Suddenly, he felt warmth spreading throughout his left arm that seemed to lessen but not quite diminish the pain that had been burning throughout it. He looked down to see Sakura in deep concentration as her hands admitted a pale, green glow pumping her own chakra into his arm. Sakura had really become a medic ninja in the past three years. He couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of admiration for the progress Sakura had made.

"There. Does it feel any better now?" She asked as she began to bandage his arm back up.

"Hn,"

Sakura glared at him, "Do you know how to do anything other than grunt or say 'hn'?!" That habit of his had always annoyed her, even in their genin years though she would have never admitted it then. Besides, what was 'Hn' supposed to mean anyways? It wasn't an answer; it was only a grunt. You can't really write 'hn' as an answer.

Sasuke opened his mouth, "Aa," and smirked.

Sakura's jaw dropped as she clenched her fists ready to pummel the Uchiha. She closed her eyes and landed a firm punch on his cheek.

"Did you just... punch me?!" He exclaimed in shock and a bit of anger. He rubbed his cheek with his good hand trying to ease the pain. She had a good, strong punch. She apparently hadn't lost her short temper while he was away.

Sakura simply returned the same smirk he had given her just a moment ago. "It would have been worse if you weren't my patient," She stated with a small chuckle as she finished.

He cursed inwardly but smirked at Sakura who was now slouching in the chair she had pulled over to his bed. She had certainly changed over the past three years. She wasn't the same weak genin he had remembered. She had a new air about her. It was obvious in the way she walked and the way she presented herself. He suddenly realized that he found that Sakura wasn't quite as annoying to be around anymore.

"This is going to be a loooonng day," Sakura sighed as she slouched down in her chair. Sasuke only turned his head away from her, not bothering to answer. A starch silence soon fell upon the room.

A masked ANBU suddenly poofed into the room, breaking the silence. "Godaime-sama wishes to see you immediately for a meeting in her office," He said pointing to Sakura before disappearing out of the room as quickly as he came.

"Thank you Kami-sama," She stated as she gathered her stuff. She walked over to Sasuke before leaving,

"I might be back by today if the meeting doesn't last the rest of my shift." She gave Sasuke a small smile for the lack of scowling she had been expecting. "You're in pain Sasuke. Do me a favor and just eat the soup. Please?" She gave Sasuke a pout before exiting the room out of fun doubting it would actually work.

Sasuke stared at the door for a few minutes after Sakura had left. She definitely wasn't the Sakura he had remembered or had expected her to be. She was still annoying but somehow Sasuke wasn't as bothered by it as he used to be. A small smile, but a smile none the less crept upon Sasuke's face. Closing his eyes, he recalled memories of the old Team 7 from a couple years ago. He wondered how much Kakashi and Naruto had changed over the years too. He slowly opened his eyes and glanced around the room to make sure that no one was there. He picked up a spoon and slowly began to eat the soup Sakura had prepared for him. He could taste a hint of tomatoes as the now cold soup slid down his throat. It was the first time that Sasuke actually thought the hospital food was good. Soon, the pain that still resided throughout his body quickly faded only moments after finishing Sakura's soup. Maybe, hospitals weren't so bad after all.

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**A/N: Okay, first of all, I want to thank my first Beta reader ever, ConTAMMYnated Prodigy. She's doing an awesome job so you all will enjoy this story even more. Thanks! Secondly, I want to thank everyone who reviewed my first chapter. I have an important favor to ask though. I really need to know if Sasuke is IC so if you could tell me that would be great!**


	3. A New Interest

A/N: So I wanted to dedicate this chapter of this story to Mistress Ayako because she really is the only reason why I got off my lazy bum (well not technically) and decided to update this story.

**General Disclaimer Applies**

Story: Forever and Always  
Chapter Title: A New Interest

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Kakashi had always taken a special interest in Sasuke. He saw himself in Sasuke, or at least his former self. He could see past the cold exterior. He could see the walls he built. He could see the pain and weakness that lied deep within Sasuke's eyes. He trained Sasuke fruitlessly hoping he could protect him from himself, his need for power. He had faith in Sasuke though. He knew that deep down Sasuke would be fine- that he could never break the bonds he formed with Team 7. Not because he didn't have the ability to, but because he knew Sasuke didn't want to. Sasuke needed Team 7.

----

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted as he entered Sasuke's window.

Sasuke glared at him, "Hn."

"Well it's good to see that you haven't changed."

"Same here," Sasuke said curtly referencing the book his old sensei was reading.

"Ahh, but this one has a _red_ cover." Kakashi mocked Sasuke as he ruffled his hair.

"Hn," the Uchiha prodigy grunted in annoyance.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke as he stared out the window. He was thinking, calculating something. Kakashi wasn't the type to poke his nose into other's business, but he quickly began to analyze the situation. He couldn't quite recognize his expression. Sasuke's face didn't show anger or bitterness, but rather was calm and cool. There was even the slightest hint of curvature at the end of his mouth. That was it- Sasuke was smiling, albeit a small one, but it was a smile none the less. There was a subtle hint of a smirk hidden within his smile, but Kakashi accepted it as one of the rare occasions that his former student was actually smiling.

"Sakura has grown, hasn't she?"

Sasuke smile quickly faded and his expression returned to the normal stoic one. "Hn."

Kakashi mused at his former student. He wasn't surprised in the least. He even let out a small chuckle at Sasuke's actions. He knew he had found the source of Sasuke's unprecedented smile. He always liked to mess with his students so he continued, "She's even training under the Hokage herself."

"I know," Sasuke bit back clearly growing annoyed with his previous sensei's persistent topic of conversation. "She's still weak." He stated bluntly to reiterate his point.

"Uh-oh, you're lucky Sakura's not around to hear you say that. You haven't seen her when she's in a bad mood."

"I am not afraid of Sakura."

"You haven't seen her in a bad mood." Kakashi repeated clearly amused by Sasuke's actions. "But that isn't the only way she's grown over the years is it Sasuke?" He continued with a suggestive tone.

Sasuke shot the silver haired man a deathly glare. Pervert. He knew of this side of his former teacher, but come on! Sakura was his student, and was what? Half his age? Sasuke didn't even feel obligated to retort to Kakashi's comment with a grunt.

"Oh Sasuke, you know you've noticed the way her uniform fits her. I have to admit it is quite pleasing to the eye." Sasuke twitched at his remarks despite efforts to his unaffected exterior causing the silver haired man to continue with his speech of sorts. "Ohhhh so you have noticed! You aren't as asexual as I thought you were!"

"Shut it," Sasuke snapped trying to remain at least somewhat respectful to the man who taught him his favorite attack, Chidori. Kakashi immediately felt the room grow tense. He had clearly overstepped his boundaries.

The room remained tense as the raven-haired boy stared passively out the window with an annoyed expression on his face. It wasn't that Kakashi's remarks bothered him, noo it wasn't that. It was merely that his remarks were inappropriate and immature. His perverted sensei had spent way too much time with Naruto. The dobe was actually starting to rub off on him.

But now that he had mentioned, Sakura had definitely 'grown'. She had grown out of her awkwardly large forehead, and was no longer the bean pole she had previously been. She had certainly grown in all the right places. If he wasn't Sasuke, he would actually say she was attractive, but he was Sasuke and Uchiha's do not pay attention to girls. He continued to stare out the window while trying to push thoughts of Sakura's physical appearance out of his mind.

Soon, Sasuke's vision was obstructed by a blur of orange and black- Naruto. The boisterous blonde had a huge grin on his face like usual. "Teme, you're back! Oh and if I hadn't already kicked your ass and drug you back here, I'd do it again, just for emphasis."

"Like a dobe like you could ever kick my ass," Sasuke said bitterly. He wasn't in the mood to listen to Naruto's idiocy. Naruto had most certainly not 'kicked his ass.'

Naruto's grin grew, "Awww, teme, you don't have to be a sore loser. I'd have no problem giving you a rematch."

"Naruto, this isn't the time for your nonsense," the thundering voice of Tsunade resounded. She shot Sasuke a menacing glare. She wasn't exactly fond of the traitor.

"I told you having the two together in the same room wouldn't be a good idea shishou," Sakura smiled as she stepped from behind Tsunade. Sasuke hadn't even realized she was there. She gave him a small smile, but quickly returned to a somewhat annoyed expression that mirrored his own.

"I don't know what you've done in the past years or why you're back," she said seriously, "But you should know you aren't going to be welcomed back in open arms."

"Hn."

"That's a serious sign of disrespect. Do you know who you're talking to?" Tsunade glared obviously infuriated with the youngest Uchiha.

"He didn't mean it as a lack of respect Shishou!" Sakura quickly cut in earning herself a curiously risen eyebrow from the Hokage. Sasuke also gave her a calculating look as if wondering why she had acted so quickly to defend him- nothing like the Sakura who seemed completely indifferent to him only moments earlier. However, she quickly composed herself to answer her mentor's questioning look. "You don't know Sasuke like I do. He's just always had trouble with polysyllabic conversation or any conversation for that matter."

Naruto began to burst with laughter at the sound of her last comment causing himself a menacing glare from both Tsunade and the Uchiha heir.

"NARUTO! THIS IS_NOT_ THE TIME!" Tsunade bellowed slamming her fist into the small table beside Sasuke's bed shattering it into hundreds of little pieces. Naruto promptly stopped his incessant laughing and quickly hid behind Sakura for protection. Sasuke snorted at his actions.

"You laughing at something Uchiha?" Tsunade spat out clearly annoyed. Sasuke simply shook his head gesturing a 'no' to the Hokage. "As I was saying, Sasuke Uchiha, you will not be welcomed back to Konoha with open arms. You will have to pay the consequences for your actions. Before I administer your punishment, is there anything you would like to say for yourself?"

"No. I did what I had to do. I will not make up excuses. I will take the punishment given to me." He replied simply with his ever so stoic expression.

Tsunade was a little bit impressed with Sasuke's reaction, but truthfully she couldn't expect anything less from an Uchiha. Nodding slightly with approval, she continued, "Sasuke Uchiha, you will be on probation, meaning **no**missions, for six months. Then you will be placed back on Team 7 with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. You will not, however, be accompanying them on any A or higher ranked missions. If any of them expect any funny business, they will report it to me immediately and you will find yourself in the highest guarded prison cell in Konoha quicker than Naruto can say 'Believe it.' Do I make myself clear?"

"Hn."

Rolling her eyes before moving on, "You should be very thankful to your teammates," Tsunade said cautiously eying Sakura. She knew that she was having a difficult time handling everything that had happened in the past day even though her appearance didn't show it. "If it wasn't for them and their appeals to the council, you'd probably be sitting on death row right now."

Sasuke's face remained as impassive as ever. He was completely unfazed by the entire conversation. Sakura mused. Besides his appearance, he was the same as he always had been.

"I must get leaving now. Piles of damn paper work, you know. Being Hokage isn't all that it's cracked up to be," She noted referencing Naruto.

"When I become Hokage, there won't be any paper work! And everyone will have to eat ramen! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed with his trademark grin.

Tsunade let out a small chuckle before turning back to Sasuke, "Oh, there is one more little detail to your punishment, but I'll let Sakura be the one to inform you." She stopped, glancing towards Sakura, "Can I have a word with you for one moment Sakura?"

"Yes Shishou," She replied following her mentor out of the hospital room gaining curious stares from the remaining men in the hospital room.

"I wonder what she wants to tell Sakura-chan." Naruto said stating the thought on everyone's mind.

"It's probably nothing, dobe, just about training or something." Sasuke stated matter-of-factly trying to mask his own curiosity.

"I doubt it Sasuke," Kakashi began, "if that were so, she probably wouldn't have called Sakura out in order to tell her."

"Yeah, and Sakura-chan doesn't really train with Baa-chan anymore since she's basically surpassed her and everything."

"She's surpassed the Hokage?!" Sasuke choked on his words. Could this really be true? Sure, he had admitted to himself that Sakura was in fact stronger, but stronger than the Hokage?

"I thought you knew she was training under the Hokage Sasuke" Kakashi replied eyeing his student's reaction. It wasn't everyday that Sasuke choked on his words. Heck, there wasn't _any _day that he choked on his words.

"I did. I didn't assume that she had surpassed her. This is Sakura we're talking about."

"Sakura isn't the same person you left here Sasuke-teme. She's changed."

"I have yet to see it." He lied. It was obvious she had changed. The only question was how much.

Meanwhile, just outside the door, Tsunade proceeded to stare at her student. "Are you sure you can handle this Sakura?"

"Yes Shishou."

"Sakura, I'm not interested in one of your robotic answers. I want the truth. Are you really comfortable with the supervision part of his punishment?"

Sakura immediately looked away from her mentor's gaze and took a large breath. "It'll be hard," she stated with a small choke in her voice.

"Sakura, look at me. You know you are one of the few people that I care about with my life. If this will be too hard for you, we can always go with the alternate option."

"I'm going to do this," Sakura stated still a little choked up, "I'm not going to let the past interfere with what my village asks for me. I'm a kunoichi now, not just some little girl with the hopes of being one."

"Everyone would understand. I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind either Sakura. We all know your history. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yes, it is! You don't understand!" She exclaimed with the traces of tears in her eyes. "You have no idea how it feels to have been as weak as I was! I promised myself I wouldn't be weak anymore. If I can't do, what am I?! I'll be just as weak as the little girl I used to be."

Tsunade nodded before turning to walk off, "As you wish."

Sakura took a few moments to compose herself before reentering Sasuke's hospital room. "Hey boys, missed me much?"

"Of course Sakura-chan! I'd rather be stuck in a room with you than Sasuke-teme over here any day!"

"You're so full of it Naruto." She chuckled punching him lightly in the arm. Sasuke couldn't help but take notice of the relationship between her and Naruto and wonder when that had happened. He couldn't help but wonder if it would be like that if he had never left.

"I'd hate to kick you guys out, but I really have some important business to attend to with Sasuke."

"I'm sure you do Sakura, I'm sure you do." Kakashi said with a slightly suggestive tone. Sasuke inwardly mused. If Sakura's temper was as bad as he said it was, he was about to get pummeled.

"Kakashi-sensei, you've been reading way too many of your perverted novels. Am I going to have to get on Jiraiya-sama for this rubbish you're reading?" She laughed once again before returning to her serious disposition. "But honestly guys, I'd love for you to stay and everything, I just really to speak with Sasuke."

"Okay, okay Sakura-chan. Hey Kakashi-sensei! Wanna go get some ramen with me? Your treat!" The bubbling blonde exclaimed as he bounced out of the room.

"Not today Naruto. I uhh… have some important things to attend to on the journey of life."

"LIAR!"

Sakura chuckled as Naruto's booming voice began to fade away. Sasuke pondered how things hadn't really seemed to change, but in fact that they had.

"Why did you do that?" Sasuke asked before allowing Sakura to speak.

"Do what Sasuke?" She shot back obviously angered.

"Why did you so quickly defend me when Tsunade-sama was angered by my so called disrespect?" He was annoyed. He knew Sakura well knew what he was referencing.

She paused and then looked away. "You don't know Shishou's temper."

"Hn."

"Anyways, Shishou mentioned there was one more addition to your punishment."

"As long as it isn't moving in with you, it can't be but so bad." Sasuke bit back in a prodigiously harsh and biting tone.

Sakura smiled a twisted smirk, taking pleasure in the bit of information she knew that Sasuke did not. "It's either that or move in with Naruto."

-

Kakashi sat outside of the hospital window evesdroping on the conversation inside still reading his book. At the sound of Sakura's last statement, he head shot up, and he promptly put his little red book away. From what he had heard of their conversation and what he already knew about his students, the next few months were going to be far more interesting.

* * *

**A/N: So I'm sorry if this chapter has a lot of grammatical errors, but I was really in a rush to update this story. I hope you all like it. I know I kinda left it at a cliffhanger and I'm sorry to say that I don't know when the next time I will be able to update. I promise when Spring comes I'll have a lot more free time because I will not be doing any extracurricular activities or be applying to college. So, tell me what you think about this chapter, please?**


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